


If three's a crowd, and two was us, one slipped away.

by arfrid



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Erica Sinclair needs many hugs, Flayed Party AU, Gen, Heavy Angst, Short One Shot, Siblings, Stranger Things 3 AU, There's a fight but nothing explicit not even any blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:35:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25936027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arfrid/pseuds/arfrid
Summary: Erica Sinclair was not looking at her brother.Erica Sinclair was looking at a monster inside her brother.
Relationships: Erica Sinclair & Lucas Sinclair
Kudos: 10





	If three's a crowd, and two was us, one slipped away.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I've had this AU idea for a while and just went "Fuck it" and let my hands write for themselves really. I live for Erica and Lucas bonding but there's no fics for it??
> 
> Basically this AU is where the party (excluding El because then there's no plot just limitless death) all get flayed instead of Billy and shit. Heavy Angst.
> 
> Also the name from Billie Eilish's "Wish You Were Gay"

Erica was angry.

It was the fact that she hated this… Shadow Thing.

It was the fact that she never knew how much pain it had it had caused. Heck, she hadn’t even known it existed.

But one of the biggest reasons she was angry was because her brother had to hide so much guilt, frustration, pain, and she just stood there laughing, calling him a nerd.

And the second, bigger reason.

The boy he was looking at was _not_ her brother.

No matter how much it looked like him. It didn’t have his kind, warm, inviting eyes that she had grown to love. It didn’t have the smile that was reserved just for her when she said something nerdy. It didn’t even get his warm temperature right, the one that made you want to hug him forever.

But right now, she can’t concentrate on that. She was holding his slingshot, the very _same_ one he apparently used to fight the Demogorgon with. She needs to fight him. She needs to _win_.

“What’s the matter, fart-face?” She used the taunt that he had used in the mall. “Don’t have the guts to attack me?”

Lucas – No. The _creature –_ snarled. Yet another feature that was very unlike him. He lunged, and she shot the slingshot. He stopped, feeling his chest where she had shot. His eyes grew angry, furious, the kind of look the white kids at school gave her occasionally when she attempted to help them. Erica’s heart plummeted, but she shook her head.

He ran towards her, and she prepared another shot, but just before she could fire, he jumped up on the wall and did a backflip in front of her.

In a flash, she had dropped his slingshot, trying to get rid of the hands on her throat. She gasped for air.

“Lucas...” She called out, her voice coming out hoarse. “Lucas, I need you, please…”

His eyes glossed over slightly. She saw a flash of recognition and… _fear?_ in his eyes. That wasn’t right. Her brother was never scared.

With a jolt, she realized that he had dropped her. He was slowly backing away. Then it came back. It stared at her, half startled, half angry, and growled.

Just when she thought she was about to die, a voice called out, “Erica!”

She looked over into the hall to see Steve, Jonathan, Hopper, Joyce, Eleven, Billy and Robin at the end of it. The creature and Eleven stared at each other, then Lucas suddenly turned and ran off. Steve rushed to her side and helped her up.

“You okay?” he asked.

_No, no, I’m not okay, how can I be okay? My brother just tried to kill me, I am absolutely not okay—_

“Fine…” She replied shakily. They stared at each other, and Erica noticed that Steve had the same warm, comforting eyes.

That set her off.

She started crying, and for once she didn’t care how she looked when she cried, like she had before. Now, she just hugged Steve.

He let out a surprised sound before swiftly hugging her back. Suddenly she felt another pair of arms around her, and found that El had hugged her, and now Joyce did, then Hopper, then Robin, then Jonathan, and then Billy.

Was this what found family meant?

She sobbed.


End file.
